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That suggests that there might have been a misinterpretation of what was planned or what was expected from the execution of those plans. What support and training do you give? You said that there are things that might well happen in the future, but it is important to give the planning authorities confidence to start with. When something is rejected, people have not achieved their goal or ambition within the timescale, which can knock them back. Fife might well have been, as you said, the guinea pig in that process, but its overall experience might not have been an exciting one, given that it did not work for it; others have since felt the same. There is a need for some support to give planning authorities the aspiration to achieve. They want to get their plans together—they need those plans—but if they cannot do that within the timescale, that can sour the whole process.

As you identify, if planning takes longer to achieve, the applicant has to progress that, which can be costly. It now takes much longer for an application to progress than it did in the past. If there is only a handful or a minimum number of people in a planning department, it is virtually impossible to deal with all the applications—depending on the amount—in a regular timescale.

Esme Clelland, do you have anything to add?

The purpose of amendment 256, in the name of Pam Gosal, is to gather data on how the bill will affect the rental market and to make that data public. During an evidence session, the Minister for Housing commented:

“Data will be an important aspect of rent controls and of determining what comes through on a local basis, as well as nationally... What levels of investment are coming through for mid-market rent, build to rent and other forms of investment in the housing sector?”—[Official Report, Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, 10 September 2024; c 7.]

That is why the amendment provides for Scottish Government ministers to collect data that would be published annually. That would include:

“(a) average rental levels, broken down by—

(i) local authority area, and

(ii) number of bedrooms,

(b) the total number of evictions,

(c) the number of rental properties available on the housing market at the time of reporting,

(d) the total level of rent arrears.”

Of course, ministers would be free to add any other information that they felt appropriate. Data collection is key when measuring the effects that policies have on the public. If the proper data is not in place, we will not know whether the policy is causing more harm than good. Therefore, I ask members to support the amendment.

I will ask you some questions about Scottish production at the moment. The change in approach to commissioning acknowledges that the BBC has underdelivered for Scotland over at least the last 10 years—people have that opinion. What resources are you offering for commissioning? Will the BBC now look at Scotland’s production companies, writers, directors and crews to ensure that the corporation’s obligation for Scottish production is and continues to be met?

It is good to note that you have that aspiration and that ambition.

Can I ask about the commissioners and how they are tasked with providing and selecting new projects for Scotland? How does that come about? Do they meet with drama, culture, comedy and entertainment? How do they select and choose the next opportunities?

You have talked about how you are changing some of the structures and adapting and you have said that you want to see different aspects coming into the sector and greater opportunities. How is that approach and the general fiscal arrangement managed to ensure that you capture the comedy, drama and entertainment for Scotland? How do you ensure that the production opportunities are grasped, kept here and managed effectively to enable Scotland to flourish? That is our ambition and it should be your ambition to achieve that for the corporation and to see where BBC Scotland can go in the future, even with the demands on financial resources and tasking to ensure that you can manage it.

It was about ensuring that you look first at the Scottish production companies and their crews, writers and directors to make sure that they get the opportunities.

Good morning. The BBC has described current Ofcom quotas as complex, and it acknowledges that it is possible for a project to qualify as Scottish even if it only has a production office located here. In relation to the Scottish quota, how can Ofcom ensure that commissioning by the BBC and Channel 4 delivers unambiguous economic and creative growth in Scotland for the next decade?

There will be changes to BBC and Channel 4 production costs and production quotas as a result of the Media Act 2024, which will have an impact on how things are managed. How will Ofcom ensure that PSBs continue to work with producers in Scotland under the new regime?

Do the changes in approach to BBC commissioning for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland confirm that the BBC has not always played with a straight bat in this process and that the corporation has failed to act in accordance with the spirit of Ofcom’s rules?

Thank you.